Ministry of Health Proposes Premium Support for 1.3 Million Ethnic Minority Members

The Ministry of Health has proposed that at least 70% of the health insurance premiums for approximately 1.3 million ethnic minority members who left disadvantaged regions continue to be covered by the state budget, in order to prevent disruptions in their access to medical examination and treatment starting November 1.

The Ministry of Health has proposed continuing health insurance contribution support to safeguard the medical examination and treatment rights of ethnic minorities. This proposal arose at a time when the support policy under Decree No. 75/2023/ND-CP expired on October 31 and replacement regulations had not yet been finalized.

According to the ministry, this policy helps protect the health insurance of approximately 2 million people each year. By 2025, more than 2 million people in this group will receive support with funds exceeding 1,810 billion VND. As of October, more than 1.3 million people were still eligible for support. Of these, 15 provinces and cities covered the remaining portion of the contributions, 2 local governments provided partial support, and 17 local governments provided no additional support.

If the policy is not extended, about 1.3 million people could lose state subsidies. In regions that do not subsidize contribution payments, citizens may be forced to pay the full premiums themselves, which is reported to be about 3.3 times higher than current premiums. This situation is stated to increase the risk of low-income individuals with limited ability to pay their own insurance premiums dropping out of health insurance coverage.

The Ministry of Health requests that at least 70% of the health insurance premium continue to be supported for this group starting November 1 until new regulations take effect. It was noted that the estimated amount of funds to be allocated for this support for the last two months of 2026 is approximately 207 billion VND.